NBL signing tracker: Adelaide 36ers legend Scott Ninnis returns after acrimonious split
A legend of an NBL club has returned more than a decade after being sacked as coach. He opens up on the healing process that mended the bridge and brought him home.
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A healing process over more than a decade has led Adelaide legend Scott Ninnis home.
The only person to be involved in all four of the 36ers’ NBL championships — two as a player and two as an assistant coach — has returned to the club he appeared in 233 games for, joining CJ Bruton’s coaching staff.
He can talk about it freely now but Ninnis’ stint as head coach of the Sixers ended in acrimony in 2010, causing a rift between the club and its legend after he was sacked two years into a three-year contract.
“It wasn’t so much getting the sack — Adelaide, as you know, is a bit of a fishbowl when it comes to sport,” Ninnis told News Corp.
“It’s the fact it took me the better part of 12 months to get what I was owed on the last year of my contract and just the way it was handled.”
Asked back into the fold four years ago, his work with best mate and fellow club legend Brett Maher was the beginning of a healing process that involved his induction into the club’s hall of fame last year and has culminated in a return to the sidelines.
“It started with getting Brett and myself back involved with the camps and the clinics, we bounce off each other pretty well and it has been great to be around the club again,” Ninnis said.
“It was just such a humbling experience to be inducted into the hall of fame alongside guys who are absolute legends of the club.
“Healing is a very good word for it.
“It’s completely new ownership with Grant, there’s no one left there when I had my time, so there’s no point in holding onto that bitterness, especially for a club that has been such a major part of my life.”
Coaching might not have even been in Ninnis’ future, had his junior club, South Adelaide, not come calling at the beginning of last NBL1 season.
“It’s amazing how the world turns. Two years ago, I said to my wife I’d ever coach basketball again, now I’m coaching in the NBL1 and back with the 36ers,” he said.
“South Adelaide had spoken to me a few times over the years about getting back involved and I’d been there from 11 years old, playing my first game, and then my last game there when I was 33 and I felt I wanted to give back.”
Give back, he did, leading the Panthers to a to the NBL1 Central title.
He sees himself playing a role for Bruton the Sixers desperately needed last season — helping keep everyone on the same page — after he club’s well-documented locker room chemistry issues.
“I met with CJ last week and basically I said I’m just here to help in any way possible, I’ve been out of the NBL for a number of years but I would see my strengths as being player management and relationships and making sure everyone stays on the same page and being that go between CJ and the players,” he said.
“Hopefully that’s an area I can help in and make sure we’re all swimming in the same direction.”
He takes great pride in his unique title achievements — and loves that it gives him one over Maher, who was involved in three of the Sixers’ four championships.
“I’ll tell everyone who lessons, especially Brett,” Ninnis laughed.
“He’s only been in three, which I continue to remind him.
“Two as a player in 1996 and ‘98 and went straight into coaching and I was Phil (Smyth’s) assistant when we went back to back in 1999 and then in 2002, which, unfortunately, is our last championship.
“It’d be nice to be involved in the next one too.”
Grand Kenyon: Why Phoenix just got a whole lot tougher
South East Melbourne has continued its quest to recruit defensive-minded talent under new coach Mike Kelly, landing the signature of underrated cagefighter Matt Kenyon.
The 25-year-old played guard a key role in the dogged, grind-it-out game style that took Tasmania to finals appearances in each of the expansion club’s first two seasons.
On the back of giant stopper Gorjok Gak’s arrival last week, New South Welshman Kenyon joins the Phoenix on a two-year deal, providing a key defender Kelly can throw at the league’s best offensive wings.
Kenyon, who, in 2019, was drafted by the Washington Wizards G League affiliate Capital City Go-Go, said an urge to broaden his basketball horizons was behind his decision to switch to the Phoenix.
“I had two really good years in Tassie but now it’s time for me to challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone a bit,” Kenyon said.
“I feel like I am only scratching the surface as a basketball player. I am really excited to come to Melbourne.
“I feel like I am a very high-energy, team-first guy. I love to play defence and just play hard, play basketball the right way ... play defence, move the ball, share the ball, and take my opportunities offensively, I think I am growing in that area.”
Kelly, too, believes Kenyon, who averaged just 4.29 points per game last season, is an untapped offensive talent.
“Matt is a team-first, tough player who will help set the tone defensively for this group,” Kelly said.
“Matt’s unselfishness helps his team win.
“It’s been fun to watch his development on the offensive end and we look forward to helping him continue to grow.”
At 196cm, Kenyon has a high motor, which allows him to be tenacious at both ends of the floor, fitting the recruiting profile for chief executive Tommy Greer.
“We have been looking to recruit defensive-minded, high energy players this off-season and that is exactly what Matt brings on a nightly basis, Greer said.
“His length on the wing and ability to guard one through four will provide us a lot of versatility within the roster.”
BIG JO’S BACK AT UNITED
A week back home in Melbourne during Chinese New Year reminded everyone — including the man himself — what a commanding figure Jo Lual-Acuil Jr remained at Melbourne United.
On break in late January from dominating the Chinese Basketball Association with the Nanjing Tongxi Monkey Kings, Lual-Acuil Jr was in his element at United’s Hoop City home. He dunked on people, blocked shots, taught the youngsters and even found time for some gentle ribbing of United staff members with elder statesman David Barlow joining the shenanigans.
Nothing was said about the potential return coach Dean Vickerman and United fans alike had so hoped for.
But, with a “quiet” group that just missed the playoffs after struggling with injury and discovering the right chemistry early, one thing was abundantly clear — Melbourne United missed Big Jo, and Big Jo missed United.
And so, while it is an enormous coup, it’s also no surprise in NBL circles the 28-year-old South Sudanese star has recommitted to the club for NBL24.
“I always said that, if I was going to come back to the NBL, it would be to play for Melbourne United,” Lual-Acuil Jr said.
“I’m happy and excited to be back home and I can’t wait to play in front of the best fans in the league.”
Part of United’s 2021 championship team, Lual-Acuil Jr ended the NBL22 campaign as an MVP finalist on the back of 16.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and a league-leading 2.11 blocks. He franked that in the lucrative Chinese league as a nightly 18-point 10-rebound double-double machine.
Vickerman and United had their fingers and toes crossed the star big man would be one-and-done in China.
“It was always just leave it as a hope and just keep checking back in with him, see how he’s going,” Vickerman said.
“Having him back for the 10 days over the Chinese New Year around our group, he just jumped in and started chatting to guys, started to lead the way.
“I was hoping he would decide to return but there are obviously a lot of different factors in there.
“He’s coming back to show everybody he was an MVP candidate in this league and if he can help us try and win and be dominant at the same time, we think that’s a great combination.”
United has already locked in Next Star Ariel Hukporti for NBL24 as he continues to ramp up his recovery from a ruptured Achilles and Vickerman is preparing to unleash Twin Towers on the league.
“We see those two playing together,” Vickerman said of 211cm Lual-Acuil Jr and his 213cm teammate.
“Which we did last time (they were teammates) for different periods. We thought it was good, so we want the opportunity to play really big.
“Both those guys are developing shooters and we want them to get their three-point attempts up.
“Ari is unbelievable with guarding more mobile guys and they both protect the rim, so it could be a really good defensive package and they both have offensive gifts.”
As with many United stars, Vickerman knows there’s a chance he could be left scrambling if Lual-Acuil Jr finds a suitable NBA Summer League situation and shows enough for a team in the big league to take a chance on him.
It’s a blessing and a curse for a club that had to think fast last off-season when it lost JLA along with Jack White (Denver Nuggets) and Matthew Dellavedova (Sacramento Kings).
“If an opportunity presents for him for this Summer League where he goes in as the No.1 centre for a team, he’d jump at that opportunity,” Vickerman said.
“There’s a side to it of where is the best place in the world to get exposed to the NBA?
“Right now, he and his agent believe coming back to the NBL, with everything that’s happened for different players, this is a great spot to play and, if you go really well, you’re going to be noticed, recognised and hopefully an opportunity presents.”
It’s the third - and biggest - United announcement this week, on the back of Tanner Krebs and Flynn Cameron, with the club understood to be in the box seat for highly-touted NBA draft pick Luke Travers and tracking the future of veteran Boomer Dellavedova.
HOW HIGH-FLYING MATES MADE NEW RECRUIT’S UNITED CALL EASY
After his good mates Jock Landale and Jack White made the leap from Melbourne United to the NBA, Tanner Krebs only ever really considered one landing spot.
And the feeling was mutual, United’s aggressive early pitch to attract the out-of-contract former Brisbane Bullet rewarded with a three-year deal.
The 198cm sharpshooting Aussie wing, 27, says United’s reputation as a winning franchise with its track record of developing players stood out, especially given he’s yet to taste postseason action in his three years in the league.
“You just have to look at Landale and Jack White, players like that (who are in the NBA), the names speak for themselves and I thought United was a great place for me to go and hopefully take my game to the next level,” Krebs told News Corp.
“I spent two years at college with Jock (St Mary’s) and we went to battle in a lot of games together, while Jack and I came up as juniors, went to the Centre of Excellence together and were teammates on some junior national teams.
“They speak very highly of the program at United, so when those guys say it, you listen.
“I just always had that in the back of my mind when I came up to this free agency process.”
A senior Australian jersey remains a dream, but just making the playoffs would be a nice milestone to tick off.
“Winning an NBL championship is a huge goal,” he said.
“But I haven’t made the finals yet, haven’t made the top six, so I’ve got to get there first and then we’ll start talking about championships.
“That’s what Melbourne’s about, putting a team together that’s going to compete to win a championship.”
Krebs is a Dean Vickerman-type player — “there’s a bit of dog in him”. Every time the Tasmanian-born son of former Hobart Devils import Dan Krebs steps on the floor, he plays for keeps, something the United coach has always been enamoured with.
“I thought the times Brisbane put him on (United star) Chris (Goulding), he just got into it, and Chris is super tough to try to stop, but he did everything in his power to do it, and I think he just liked having those kind of assignments,” Vickerman said.
“We actually had conversations with Tanner coming out of college and we’ve been tracking him ever since. If there was ever an opportunity to get him one day, we wanted to go and grab it.
“To me, he’s super versatile and being able to do multiple things is really important.
“We see him as someone who plays elite defence and can be that secondary ball carrier, which is something that we’ve been looking for.”
Krebs, who will move to Melbourne with partner Mel Saarinen, was in the conversation for NBL23’s Most Improved Player award, before a serious ankle injury ruined his season.
“I ruptured my CFL (Calcaneofibular ligament) and ATFL (Anterior Talo-Fibular Ligament) in my ankle,” he said.
“I’ve also had some problems with my right ring finger where I dislocated that three times now and I’ve been doing a lot of hand therapy and I’m on the mend now coming out the other side, which has been good.”
Before he hits Melbourne, Krebs is hoping to lead the Gold Coast Rollers to back-to-back NBL1 North titles.
He credits his time in the second-tier as a turning point in his career and points to newly-signed veteran Adelaide point guard Jason Cadee — with whom he played with at Brisbane and on the Rollers — as an inspiration.
“I thought I had a really good year before I got hurt,” he said.
“For me, a lot of my development came playing with Jason Cadee, having Peach (former Bullet Anthony Petrie) as a coach at Gold Coast.
“A lot of it was confidence for me and, once I started to find my feet in NBL1 and realised I could really contribute at a high level the confidence really switched.”
The third year of Krebs’ deal has a player option, which gives him added flexibility.
DEEP BASKETBALL BLOODLINES FUELLING UNITED SIGNING
Basketball lineage runs deep for Melbourne United rookie Flynn Cameron.
The 22-year-old New Zealand guard bears the Cameron name made famous by his legendary father Pero, a FIBA hall-of-famer who won 11 titles as a player and helped turn the Tall Blacks into a fledgling basketball force.
It’s a name he wears well, according to United coach Dean Vickerman, who was an assistant with the Tall Blacks during Pero’s time and coached the sweet-passing brute to the 2009 NZBL title with the Waikato Pistons.
🇳🇿 We are excited to announce the signing of dynamic young guard Flynn Cameron, to a three-year contract.
— Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) April 11, 2023
The 22 year old New Zealand native recently led the Tall Blacks in points (13.3) and assists (4.9) per game at the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup.
More info: https://t.co/D1PgWsTKbXpic.twitter.com/RwlA9Ko2JJ
“The game became very simple when you can just throw it to the block and you’ve got an unbelievable passer and I think Flynn sees the floor really well like his dad,” Vickerman said. “They play different positions — Flynn’s a combo guard compared to Pero, who was a four-five — but the physicality is there.
“When he sees a smaller guard on him, he’s more than happy to take him down to the post and use his physicality that certainly Pero had to his game.
“I’ve really been impressed with how his three-point shot’s developed over time and how he led New Zealand at the point guard at the Asia Cup.”
Cameron, out of UC Riverside college, signed a three-year contract, which has a mutual option in its final year.
“Knowing who we have as a coach, coach Dean (Vickerman), I’ve seen him throughout NZNBL and in the NBL,” Cameron said.
“He coached my dad in the NZNBL, I thought that was pretty cool to have the opportunity to
play for him, it’s a bit of a full circle moment.”
The chance to play with tough Kiwi Shea Ili — and a reunion, of sorts, with United captain Chris Goulding — were also attractions.
“Shea’s one of the best defenders in the league, and then having Chris Goulding at the two, I feel like I’ve got the best of both worlds in terms of learning from two of the elite guards in this league,” he said.
“I was able to play with (Shea) this past summer as part of the Tall Blacks camp. He’s definitely the best defender I’ve ever gone against.
“Every position I was like ‘Okay, this is for real. This is something that’s going to help me get better’.
“Having been around (Goulding) going back to the Blaze days and seeing everything he’s accomplished since then, it feels really special.
“He played with and then was coached by my dad … I just remember being a little kid, having interactions with him, I’d play the little kid card, maybe fake a little cry to get his attention.”
The 196cm guard averaged 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in his final year at University of California Riverside and, while slightly built, the 22-year-old projects to play a role in United’s rotation from day one behind Ili.
PHOENIX LAND 211CM GIANT TO FORTIFY FRONTLINE
South East Melbourne has locked in its defensive anchor, big man Gorjok Gak fortifying the explosive Mitch Creek-Alan Williams frontline.
The 211cm giant adds length and athleticism to new coach Mike Kelly’s squad, joining the Phoenix after spending last season with the Brisbane Bullets.
Club boss Tommy Greer envisaged Gak as adding a “new dimension” to the club.
“He will fill a key role for the team next season playing behind Alan Williams,” Greer said.
“His ability to run the floor and protect the rim will bring a new dimension to us defensively.
“Gorjok has enormous upside and we are looking forward to working with him on that continued development.”
Gak’s arrival aligns with Kelly’s key focus on strengthening South East Melbourne’s abilities without the ball.
“Some defensive intensity and some toughness I think is going to hopefully run throughout the group,” Kelly said.
Gak, born in St Clair, western Sydney, spent four years in US college (Florida State and California Baptists) before beginning his pro career.
ILI AND DELLY?: UNITED’S GRAND PLANS TO CREATE NBL’S BEST BACK-COURT
Star point guard Shea Ili is free from concussion symptoms after a wretched year of head knocks and inner-ear issues and he’s on a path to represent New Zealand at the World Cup and spearhead Melbourne United’s assault on NBL24.
And sources have told News Corp United has been tracking veteran NBA champion Matthew Dellavedova with interest in reuniting the 32-year-old Boomers Olympic bronze medallist with Ili in the back-court — if he’s unable to secure another deal in the big league.
Delly, who spent NBL22 at United before joining the Sacramento Kings, this week, had surgery on his injured right index finger.
He faces a race to be ready for the start of the Kings’ first postseason appearance since 2006.
Ili, 30, was limited to just 14 games in NBL23 after suffering multiple concussions over the past two years and many outside the club feared for his future.
But Vickerman said there was “total confidence” the rest and work Ili, who is keeping busy as a part-time builder during recovery, had done would ensure he’d go into Tall Blacks camp “in unbelievable shape”.
“He’s in a great place, he’s symptom free and we want him symptom free for a long time before we put him in any kind of contact,” Vickerman said.
“He’s in a phase where he’s getting a few individual workouts every week, he’s in a running program and still lifting and we’ll just continue to increase it with load from there.
“He’s going to be back to being like any other player. If he takes a heavy knock, he’s going to be able to absorb it. That’s what we want him to get into, we want him to play fearless and we want him to go into that World Cup and be who he is.
“You can never say he’s not going to take a knock to the head, but hopefully it’s not going to get to a point where he has another concussion.”
Vickerman would not be drawn on Dellavedova or prime target Luke Travers, but it’s understood United remains in the box seat to secure the 21-year-old Cleveland Cavaliers’ NBA draft pick, who has parted ways with Perth, should he choose to play in the NBL.
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Originally published as NBL signing tracker: Adelaide 36ers legend Scott Ninnis returns after acrimonious split
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